The number of people who died in an accidental fall was twice as high in 2021 as ten years earlier. This is evident from figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Monday. This mainly concerns older people over the age of eighty and people who suffered from degenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
In the study, CBS looked at accidents in which people accidentally fell or tripped and died within thirty days as a result of the fall. Such an accidental fall is the cause of death in 3 percent of deaths in the Netherlands. However, the figures show that it mainly concerns the elderly who die as a result of a fall. Of the 5,400 deaths in 2021, more than 40 percent were people aged eighty or older.
The number of deaths from falls rose fastest in the oldest age groups, especially among women. In 2011, nearly seven per thousand women over the age of 90 died as a result of a fall. Ten years later, in 2021, there were more than fifteen per thousand women. The number of deaths among men also rose fastest in the age group over ninety: from more than seven per thousand deaths in 2011 to thirteen per thousand in 2021.
Four in ten people who died from a fall in 2021 had a degenerative disease, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis. Six in ten people who died from an accidental fall last year received long-term care, either in an institution or from home. The number of deaths in healthcare facilities has increased slightly over the past year, especially among people with degenerative disease.